Traditionally, the social studies have been defined as the social sciences adapted and simplified for pedagogical purposes. This definition assumes that the criteria for curriculum selection and development in social studies should come from the social sciences and not from an independent view of what the social sciences should be about. Hence, social studies educators are caught between uttering commitments to education for rational citizenship and creating curricula based on criteria that seem mostly irrelevant to these objectives. A more adequate definition of social studies is needed--social studies education as that part of the general education program which is concerned with the preparation of citizens for participation in a democratic society. Social sciences have much to offer in the way of analytic concepts for determining factual claims about social issues, but offer little where a choice must be made between conflicting values. Several obstacles impede the adoption of a more viable definition of the social studies--certain myths about the learning process, teacher insecurity, and fear over community reaction. We should be directing our attention to questions of what social studies education should be and how we can best accomplish this objective with students of different abilities and interests, regardless of whether they are in a vocational or college-prep program. (Author/JLB)

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